Seven witnesses have told police under oath that Robert McIntosh was shot by a police officer before he was handcuffed during a violent struggle, Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt said Wednesday.

"They all indicated he was handcuffed after the shots were fired," Hurtt said in a hastily called news conference two days after citizens criticized the chief and Mayor Bill White for not discussing the case in detail.

Community activists were outraged by allegations from a handful of witnesses that McIntosh was handcuffed before officer L.D. Smith shot him on Jan. 8 after a routine traffic stop in the Sunnyside neighborhood, a predominantly black community just southeast of Loop 610 south.

On Wednesday, Hurtt said two of the three people who claimed McIntosh, 23, was handcuffed before he was shot have since "recanted or clarified" their statements to indicate otherwise.

Community activists have accused police of intimidating witnesses into recanting or giving false statements. These alleged witnesses could not be reached to independently verify allegations by others in the community.

"Under what circumstances did they recant their stories?" said Quanell X. "Was it spiritual enlightenment to tell the truth or was it under a direct threat? What would make them change their stories?"

Hurtt did not mention one prominent witness, Yolanda Perry, by name Wednesday. He did indicate, however, that she is the only remaining person who saw the shooting and who still maintains McIntosh was handcuffed before he was shot by Smith. She has testified in secret before a grand jury.

Perry, the wife of a minister whose church is near the shooting scene, declined to comment Wednesday. Perry's supporters, however, have rallied around her.

"I believe she saw what she said she saw, and I have no reason to doubt that," Quanell X said. "But, if she did not see what she said she saw, then that's a great abuse of the trust of the community."

McIntosh was a passenger in a car driven by a woman police described as his girlfriend when Smith pulled the vehicle over at Cullen and Knoxville for having a defective taillight and no license plate.

Smith arrested the driver on an outstanding warrant and placed her in his patrol car before he searched McIntosh, Hurtt said. Smith reported that McIntosh smelled of the drug PCP and acted strangely before he ran from the officer.

Officer's thumb broken

Smith chased McIntosh down, according to the Police Department account, and struggled with the suspect in a ditch. McIntosh, who was 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighed 300 pounds, managed to break the officer's thumb and turn Smith's own stun gun on him. Smith then drew his pistol and shot McIntosh in the chest.

"It was at this point that the sworn statements of 10 witnesses indicate the officer fired his weapon leading to the death of Mr. McIntosh," Hurtt said. "All of the remaining witnesses mentioned never wavered in their account regarding when Mr. McIntosh was handcuffed. They all indicated he was handcuffed after the shots were fired."

Perry said McIntosh never turned the Taser on the officer before he was handcuffed and shot.

Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal said the majority of witnesses, if believed by a grand jury, would tend to support Smith's version. Physical evidence will ultimately decide the case, though, he said.

"I think you can very much have people want to say they see things to reinforce a preconceived notion about (how they think things) can happen," Rosenthal said.

Referring to another police shooting that occurred the day before the McIntosh case, Hurtt said his department's internal investigation thus far also supports the account of officers in the Jan. 7 death of Omar Esparza at his home at 5018 Curtin.

Activists who say police used excessive force in both shootings have asked for a federal investigation into McIntosh's death. The FBI has said it will review HPD's investigation, and Hurtt said the department will cooperate if a federal investigation is launched.

Quanell X and other activists say the shooting was murder by cop, but others in Sunnyside aren't convinced it was more than the tragic end to the life of a troubled man who attempted to flee and struggle with a police officer.

Hurtt said investigators found "substantial amounts" of three illegal drugs on McIntosh after he died. Hurtt would not discuss the drugs in detail.

"If he had handcuffs on, that was murder," said the Rev. Robert Jefferson of Houston Ministers Against Crime. "If he didn't have handcuffs on and the officer feared for his life, that's a different story."

Perry's account questioned

Other residents have questioned Perry's account because of discrepancies in her statements to reporters. Developer Dwayne K. Jordon said two of his employees were working on a new townhome across from the shooting at 1 p.m. in the 4600 block of Knoxville.

"It happened so fast, all they heard was gunshots. They didn't see anything," Jordon said.

Activist Sandra Massie-Hines said other people she talked to saw McIntosh handcuffed before he was shot but they are afraid police will retaliate if they come forward.

"This is only going to aggravate the situation," Massie-Hines said. "The community is not going to stop meeting."

Massie-Hines and Quanell X said other witnesses, who may have criminal records, fear that upsetting police will lead to future harassment or arrests. Perry, they said, hasn't changed her story because she doesn't fear police.

Regardless of whether he was handcuffed or not, McIntosh's family thinks the officer had no reason to shoot him.

"The officer that shot my son, I don't hate you; I forgive you, but justice will be served," said McIntosh's mother, Danetta.

Even if McIntosh did turn the Taser on the officer, Quanell X said, that would not constitute a deadly threat because police do not consider stun guns deadly weapons.

Although the department's internal review supports official reports of the McIntosh and Esparza shootings, Hurtt said the department is awaiting the findings of a Harris County grand jury.